Shelf-bracket and support therefor.



v No. 634,091. Patented D01. 3, I899.

' W. H. NEWLEE.

SHELF BRACKET AND SUPPORT THEREFOR.

w'iigzsszsv v r I T932 m I 12);] EAfiargeys, V v V UNITED-STAT I PATENTA OFFICE. I

NVILLIAB I ZEI. NEWLEE, OFPULA'SKI CITY, VIRGINIA.

SHELF-BRACKET AND SUPPORT THEREFOR.

$PECIFIGA'I'ION forming part r Letters retentive. 634,091, dated October3, i899.

ApplicationiiledJanuary ZG ,1899. 'sennnaf'zosn'zz. hu an.)

To all whom itmaylconc'ern:

I 3e it known that I, WILLIAM H. NEWLEE, a citizen of the United States,residing at Pulaski City, in the county of Pulaski and State ofVirginia, have invented a new and useful Shelf-Bracket and SupportTherefor, of which the following is aspe'cification.

This invention relates to shelf-brackets and supporting meansthereforjand the object of the invention is to provide simple andefficient elements of the character specified and in connectiontherewith means for locking and holding a bracket or brackets in anadjusted or desired position and which are so operated as to instantlypermit the elevation or lowering of one or both of the brackets tothereby regulate the height of a shelf or like part secured to the uppersides of said brackets.

In practice I provide two supports or side bars and connect the same insome suitable manner with the wall or other place of a compartment, andsaid supports or side bars are provided with projecting beads or tonguesextending substantially the length thereof and which are preferablyT.-shaped in cross-section, and the outer and widened faces of thesebeads or tongues are provided with teeth, thereby forming racks, and thespaces between the teeth'are beveled upwardly and outwardly, and inconnection with the supports or sidebars I provide a pair of brackets,the brackets having T-shaped grooves to fit over and slide verticallyupon the similarly-shaped tongues on the side bars, and said bracketscarry spring-actuated pawls, extending, preferably, entirely across thewide portion of the grooyes and adapted to rest upon the upper fiatsides of the rack-teeth, the width of the teeth corresponding with thatof said pawls, wherebya wide bearing is provided to insure holding thebrackets in a stable'position.

With these ends in view the invention consists in the novel combinationof elements and in the construction and arrangement of parts, which willbe hereinafter fully described and claimed.

To enable others to understand the'invention, I have illustrated thepreferred embodiment thereof in the accompanying drawings, forming apart of this specification, and in which Figure l is a perspective viewof a pair of on, and a shelf resting upon and secured to the upper sidesof the brackets. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of a portion of one of theside bars the side bars or supports, the brackets there- I and thebracket'thereon and with'a fragrnent v of said bracket removed toindicate the mannor in which the pawl rests upon a tooth of the rack.Fig. 3 is a sectional plan View, the section being taken on the line 33, Fig. 2.

Similar characters denote like and. corresponding parts in each of theseveral figures of the drawings.

In the "drawings I have represented two supports or side bars 2 and 3,provided, respectively, with brackets 4 and 5, and to the upper side ofsaid brackets the shelf 6 is secured, the side bars and brackets beingeach usually cast in one piece, while the shelf 6 is ordinarily of wood,and the said side bars will be fastened by screws or otherwise to thewall The side bar 2 is provided longitudinally thereof with theelongated bead or tongue 7, which is adapted to fit within thecorrespondingly-shaped groove or channel 8, formed depthwise on theinner side of the bracket 4, and said bracket is adapted to fit againstthe support therefor, and this, in connection with the T-shaped tongueand groove, serves to positively hold the bracket in proper position.The bead or tongue 7 is provided with the teeth 9, which may extend fromend to end thereof and which are beveled, as at 10, upon their outerfaces, the upper flat edges 12 of said teeth being adapted to receive apawl or other analogous device carried by the bracket for sustaining thelatter in a fixed position, and it will be evident upon an inspection ofFig. 3 that the teeth extend entirely across the wide face of saidtongue.

The device employed for locking the shelf in the adjusted position isrepresented as a spring-actuated dog or pawl 13, slidingly fitted in thetransverse aperture '14, extending into the groove or channel 8;"and thewidth of the pawl is substantially equal to the wider portion of saidgroove, and consequently of the tongue 7, so that when the pawl restsupon the upper flat side of a tooth a wide bearing engagement is badbetween the two parts. Upon an inspection of Fig. 3 it will be seen thatthe outer face of the pawl is beveled, as at 15, in a directioncorresponding with the inclination of the teeth 9, by reason of whichthe said pawl can be thrust backward farther into the aperture 14: whenupward pressure is applied to the bracket. For thrusting said pawl overa tooth and in engagement with the upper flat face 12 thereof I preferto provide a coiled spring, as 16, which fits over the projections 17and 18 on the pawl and bracket, respectively, the faces of saidprojections being somewhat tapered to facilitate the introduction of thespring.

The pawl 13 slides between the upper and lower walls of the aperture1'4,which is shown as horizontal, and said pawl is provided with thethumbpieces or wiugsl!) and 20, which extend outward from the oppositefaces or sides of the bracket, so as to be within easy reach. To raisethe bracket, it will be simply necessary to apply an upward pressurethereto, and whensaid bracket has reached its proper position the springwill thrust the pawl outward and over and into engagement with the upperface of a tooth, thereby to firmly lock the bracket in the desiredposition, and the same operation will be repeated with respect to thebracket 5. To lower the bracket, the Wings 19 and 20 will be pressedrearward by the fingers, so as to carry the pawl out of contact with atooth, at which time said bracketcan be easily lowered, and when in thedesired location the pawl will be released and be shot forward by therelaxing coiled spring 16.

Changes in the form, proportion, size, and the minor details ofconstruction within the scope of the appended claims may be resortedtending entirely across the wider portion thereof, a bracket having aT-shaped groove adapted to receive said tongue, and having an aperturetransverse to the tongue, a pawl fitted for sliding movement between theupper and lower walls of the aperture, the width of the working portionof the pawl being substantially thev same as the tongue and groove attheir wider parts, and a spring for actuating the pawl, substantially asdescribed.

2. The combination with a side bar having a T-shaped tongue providedwith beveled teeth, a bracket having a T-shaped groove to receive saidtongue and adapted to slide against said side bar, and said brackethaving an aperture transverse to the tongue, a pawl supported forsliding movement between the upper and lower walls of the aperture andhaving wings which extend outward from the opposite faces of saidbracket, and the workin g portion of the pawl being of substantially thesame width as the widest portion of said tongue and groove,and a springacting against the pawl, substantially as described.

3. The combination with a side bar having a T-shaped tongue providedwith beveled teeth, of a bracket having a similarly-shaped grooveadapted to receive said tongue, and the latter having beveled teeth, andsaid bracket having a slot transverse to the tongue, a pawl fittedbetween the upper and lower walls of said aperture, the working end ofsaid pawl being beveled in the same direction as said teeth and being ofsubstantially the same width thereof, and said pawl having portionsextending outward from the opposite faces of the bracket, projections onthe pawl and shelf respectively, and a coiled spring the ends of whichfit over said projections, substantially as described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixedmy signature in the presence of two witnesses.

WM. H. NEWLEE.

Witnesses:

JOHN H. SIGGERS, HAROLD H. SIMMs.

